


It Will All Work Out Eventually

by LucindaAM



Series: Beauty and her Beast [7]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bruce takes it as well as can be expected, F/M, Fluff, Light Swearing, No Smut, Operation Baby Bean is a go, vague description of a panic attack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:47:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26703190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LucindaAM/pseuds/LucindaAM
Summary: Operation Baby Bean is a go. At least for one of the people involved.Bruce takes it as well as can be expected.
Relationships: Bruce Banner/Reader
Series: Beauty and her Beast [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1925902
Comments: 13
Kudos: 47





	It Will All Work Out Eventually

**Author's Note:**

> This one goes out to gravygremlin! Lol. Sorry it took so long to get you more. ;)

You looked at Tony and bit your lip to keep your grin from stretching across your face. “You’re sure?” You asked. 

Tony nodded and leaned towards your stomach. He rested his hand against it and nodded seriously. “Baby bean is in there. Just a matter of time now.” 

To say you were thrilled was an understatement. It had been almost five months to the day since you’d first talked to Bruce about having a child together. He’d warmed up to the idea more than you could have ever thought possible, but you’d begun to think you were STILL never going to be able to have kids with him. He was just so focused on the idea of keeping Hulk genes from passing along to your kids that he’d taken almost all the fun out of it. 

You jumped off the table, startling the inventor as you reached for him and threw your arms around his neck. Tony crashed against the table behind him, but caught you, laughing alongside you as he spun you around. 

When he finally put you back on your feet, he glanced at you. “How are we going to break the news to Papa Green Bean?” He asked. 

You could already see his eyes growing larger and more excited about the various possibilities and you instinctively put a hand over your unborn fetus as if you could already feel it growing within you. 

You glanced at Tony and the smile quickly fell off your face. 

“No. No, no, no, no, no, no, NO. Whatever you’re thinking . . . No.” You murmured, turning your body slightly, backing away as though defending your baby from the madman in front of you. 

Tony looked offended. 

“Just hear me out . . .” He started, already waving a hand for JARVIS to display a few plans in the air. 

You glanced agape at the plans. “Is . . . is that a TINY little suit?!” You demanded, pointing at one in particular. It looked an awfully lot like a toddler sized Hulk-buster suit. You couldn’t decide if it was funny or not. You were leaning more towards the latter. 

Tony shrugged. “Maybe baby bean will want to help tame his uncle? Daddy? Hulk?” Tony made a face you didn’t particularly care for. 

You shook your head more adamantly. “The baby is not getting anywhere NEAR the lab for at least three years.” 

Tony looked horrified. “You would keep my godchild away from me?” 

You chuckled but it sounded nervous. “Godfather?” 

Tony nodded seriously as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against a desk. “Of course. I mean, it may not have been a wand, but I did wave my own brand of magic over baby bean in there.” He nodded at your stomach. “Though I suppose I could try my hand at turning a pumpkin into a baby carriage too. Just don’t forget about midnight.” He winked. 

You shook your head more adamantly. “No baby carriage!” You said firmly, backing out the lab slowly. “And no suits! I don’t need that kind of stress in my life!” 

You were still backing out of the lab and so you didn’t see the pile of dismantled tech on the floor before you tripped on it. Your arms windmilled as you fell backwards. 

Right before you hit the ground, strong arms wrapped around you. “Bruce.” You breathed as he hefted you up and placed a hand against your cheek. 

“You okay?” He asked worriedly. 

“Nice reflexes there, Papa Bear.” Tony snarked. 

You shot him a murderous glare from behind Bruce’s back. 

“Papa Bear? That’s a new one. What happened to ‘Green Bean’ or ‘Rage Monster’?” Bruce asked, stepping further into the lab. 

Tony smirked at you when Bruce glanced away, and you slashed a finger across your throat. ‘I will kill you in your sleep.’ You mouthed. 

Tony’s smirk only grew wider as he turned back to Bruce. “Just tryin’ it out. Thought we’d give it some practice before Operation Baby Bean bears fruit . . . pun intended.” 

Bruce chuckled as he pulled up a report on his console. “Well don’t get your hopes up. We still have a lot of work to do before ‘Operation Baby Bean’ is ready to go.” 

You and Tony exchanged another glance and your hands froze on your stomach. Tony turned to the scientist when you didn’t quite seem to know what to say. “What do you mean, Banner? I thought we worked out all the bugs.” 

Bruce shook his head. “Almost all of them. There’s just this one gene sequence that doesn’t seem right.” Bruce shook his head. “I just need a little more time.” He glanced up at you with an expression pleading on his face. “I’ll make it work.” He promised. 

You could only nod dumbly. 

Bruce glanced at your pale face and the hands still pressed against your stomach. “Are you okay?” He asked, standing from his chair. He took a step towards you and you suddenly snapped out of your trance. 

“Yeah. Yeah. I just . . . I have to go. I think I ate some bad . . . shrimp.” You turned and fled out of the lab, leaving a very confused Banner behind. 

Bruce glanced at Tony who was staring after you with worry in his eyes. Before Bruce could question it, Tony shrugged. “She’ll be fine. So, what’s the gene sequence you’re struggling with?” 

Bruce glanced once more at the doorway before he turned his tablet to show Tony what he was working on. “This sequence here . . . it just seems . . . off.” 

You ran through the tower and right into the medbay. “Dr. Cho?! Helen!” You called. 

Dr. Cho came running out of her office at your panicked cries. “Y/N? What are you doing here? What’s wrong? Is it Bruce?” 

You shook your head and unable to explain, you simply put your hands on your stomach. 

“Oh.” Dr. Cho said. 

You could see a wide variety of emotions cross her face as she took a minute to process everything. Then she reached out a hand to grab one of yours. She squeezed it comfortingly. “Everything’s going to be fine. Alright? First, I want to do some scans. See what we’re dealing with.” 

You nodded quietly and let her lead you towards one of the exam rooms. “Please don’t tell Bruce.” You whispered as she helped you up on a table. 

She hesitated a moment before she went back to work. “He doesn’t know?” She asked innocently. 

You shook your head. “I wanted it to be a surprise.” You admitted. 

Dr. Cho let out a long breath. “It definitely will be.” She muttered. 

You laughed nervously as she gestured for you to lay back. She fixed a scanner over you and the machine whirred at it covered you in a laser grid. Helen held up a tablet as she started getting the readings back. 

“Heart rate is normal. Yours and the baby’s. I’d say you’re at least six weeks along.” 

She started mumbling something in Korean that you weren’t able to follow. You kept your eyes pinned to her face and didn’t like how her brow furrowed at something. 

“Dr. Cho?” You asked softly. 

Dr. Cho glanced up to see you sitting there. Her face cleared quickly as she tucked her emotions back inside. “I’m sure it’s nothing.” She soothed. 

“But it could be something.” You surmised. Your heart rate picked up and Helen glanced at her tablet before coming towards you. 

“You need to calm down. You’re going to be okay. Just take deep breaths. Come on. Breath with me. That’s right. The stress isn’t good for the baby.” 

You took deep breaths as you squeezed her hand in yours. She winced at the pain, but didn’t try to pull away as you grounded yourself. 

“Between Tony, Bruce and I, nothing will happen to this baby. Alright? I promise you.” 

You nodded slowly and Dr. Cho helped you sit up. “Are you okay?” She asked softly. 

You nodded your head as you stared at your stomach. You ran your hands over it softly. “I just want to know my baby is going to be okay too.” You whispered. 

Dr. Cho nodded reassuringly. “We’ll figure it out. But first, we need to tell the happy father to be.” 

You let out a shaky breath and nodded your head. Helen noticed as your heart rate spiked again on the tablet but didn’t say anything as she offered you an arm to lean on. “Do you want me to go with you? Or do you want to tell him on your own?” 

You debated the two choices for a minute. Deep down, you really wanted Dr. Cho to be with you. You had a feeling that Bruce would be more comfortable if she was there to talk him through the medical side of things. On the other hand, you were pretty sure you were about to have a ‘code green’ in the tower and while Hulk would never hurt you, the same couldn’t be said for Dr. Cho. 

You shook your head. “I’ll talk to him. But maybe we can come down here after and you can go over the results with him? I think he’d feel better if he could talk to you personally.” 

Dr. Cho nodded. “Of course. Whatever you need. Just keep me updated.” She said as she led you to the elevator. She pressed the button and glanced at you, standing in the doorway so the doors wouldn’t shut. “Just keep your heart rate down. Remember, it isn’t good for the baby.” She encouraged. 

You shot her a shaky smile and she stepped out of the elevator. The doors slid shut and you headed towards Bruce’s floor, rubbing your belly carefully. “You’re going to be okay, Bean.” You murmured. “Uncle Tony and daddy are going to fix you. Dr. Cho is going to help. You’re going to be okay.” 

You whispered it over and over until the doors slid open on your floor and you stepped out. “JARVIS? Can you send Bruce up? I need to talk to him.” 

“Right away.” 

You sat on the couch that overlooked the entire city and stared out the window blankly. You were so lost in your thoughts that you didn’t hear Bruce step off the elevator or call your name. 

You jumped when he reached out his hands to touch your face. “Hey. Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” He said, crouched in front of you. 

He rubbed tears off your face and you blinked as you realized you’d been crying. 

“Hey, hey now. It’s okay.” He said, nudging you to the side so he could sink into the couch next to you. You kept your hands pressed against your stomach as Bruce pulled you against his chest. He ran his hands against your back soothingly as he eyed your hands. 

“I know you said you wanted a baby.” He started. “I want one too. I hope you know that.” 

You glanced up at him. “Of course I do.” You said, but the worry in your eyes didn’t fade. 

Bruce tucked your head back under his chin. “I’m sorry it’s taking so long.” He murmured. You tensed. He tried to massage your muscles into relaxing, but you just tensed harder under his fingers. “I just want to make sure the baby is going to be okay.” Bruce tried explaining. 

“Bruce . . .” Your voice was barely more than a whisper. 

“Just . . . the thought of passing on this . . . this . . . curse . . .” 

“Bruce.” You interrupted again, a little louder. 

Bruce shook his head. “I know you don’t think it is one, sweetheart, but for a kid? I just want to give them a change to be normal, dammit!” 

“Bruce!” You yelled, jumping out of his arms. You were breathing heavily as you stood in front of him. Your hands were on your stomach and your eyes were wide. 

Bruce’s eye’s fell from yours to your stomach and a sinking suspicion filled him to the brim. He swallowed hard. “You’re . . . you’re already pregnant, aren’t you?” He asked. 

You waited until Bruce’s eyes met your and you nodded once. 

Bruce shook his head and pushed away from the couch. He started pacing behind it, keeping the piece of furniture between the two of you. “It’s not . . . I’m not . . . I haven’t finished . . . not ready yet . . .” 

Bruce’s irises turned green as he started spiraling. You reached out a hand. “Bruce. It’s going to be okay.” 

“No!” He yelled, his voice sounding distorted. “It’s not! It’s going to a MONSTER. Like me!” 

You flinched at his words and stumbled back a step. 

Bruce was too stuck in his transformation to notice the pain that flashed across your eyes. He screamed as he fell to his knees, his skin bubbling and expanding. 

You kept your head ducked, standing quietly to the side as Hulk emerged. 

Hulk roared as he woke up and spun around the large room, one Tony had specifically designed for moments just like this. 

When Hulk saw you alone, crying silently in the corner, his tension bled out of him and he walked slowly towards you. He called your name softly and you glanced up. 

Hulk’s brows furrowed as he looked at you. You were hurting, but he couldn’t figure out why. He held his arms open in invitation and you only hesitated a second before you rushed into them. 

You clung to Hulk tightly as he ran a finger up and down your back. “Shhh. Shhh.” He tried to comfort you. You only cried harder. 

Hulk picked you up and brought you in front of his face. He reached out a hand and tried to brush your tears away. “You hurt.” He rumbled. 

You shook your head and pushed his finger away gently so you could brush your tears aside. “No. I’m not hurt.” You soothed, patting his hand gently. 

Hulk frowned. “You are.” He said firmly. “Who hurt?” 

You chuckled. “Can’t hide anything from you, can I, big guy?” You asked. 

Hulk smiled softly, though his eyes were still sad as he watched a few more tears leak down your face. He shook his head. 

You sighed. “I’m going to have a baby.” You said, looking up at the beast with bated breath. You’d already seen how Bruce had reacted to that. You were curious to see how Hulk would. Surely it couldn’t be worse than Bruce’s reaction. 

Hulk grinned and set you down on the ground. You sat down and he sat in front of you. His eyes lit up with excitement as he gently prodded at your stomach. “Baby Bean?” He asked. 

You chuckled and guided his finger so it was pressing more comfortably against you. “Yes. Baby Bean. Where did you hear that one?” You asked. 

“Puny Banner.” Hulk grumbled, pointing at his temple. 

You froze. “You . . . you talked to Bruce?” You asked. You could hardly believe what you were hearing. You’d never heard Bruce mention this kind of thing before. 

Hulk nodded quietly and you had to fight to keep a huge smile from breaking out across your face. “Can . . . can you hear him right now, Hulk?” You asked. 

Hulk squeezed his eyes shut and a snarl flickered on his lips. He nodded angrily. “He mad.” He said. 

Your own brows furrowed in confusion. “Why is he angry?” You asked. 

Hulk shook his head. “He wants to talk.” He grumbled. “Hulk no let him.” 

You leaned your cheek against Hulk’s finger and rubbed the back of his hand soothingly. “Why not?” You asked softly. 

Hulk watched you for a minute. Then he laid down in front of you. You pushed yourself towards him and climbed up onto his stomach, You pushed yourself up on your elbows and looked down at Hulk’s face as he stared up at the ceiling. “He no want baby.” Hulk said. 

You shook your head. “He want’s the baby. I’m sure he does. He’s just scared.” You said soothingly, reaching a hand out to stroke Hulk’s face.” 

“Why?” He asked. 

“Why don’t you ask him?” You suggested. 

Hulk closed his eyes and concentrated. Every now and again, his lips would move as though he was talking to someone, but no sound would come out. You kept stroking his face softly, showing your love as best as you were able. 

Eventually Hulk sighed and his eyes opened. He looked exhausted. “Puny Banner says baby bad.” 

You swallowed hard and did your best to read between the lines. “Did he say that having a baby was bad?” 

Hulk shook his head. 

“He just think’s the baby’s going to be . . . sick . . . doesn’t he?” You asked. 

Hulk nodded. You sighed and scooted yourself forward. You leaned your head against Hulk’s forehead. “He just wants to protect Baby Bean.” You soothed. 

Hulk pushed you away gently so he could look in your eyes. “You promise?” He asked seriously. You nodded, just a serious. 

Hulk huffed and closed his eyes again and in the next second, you felt Bruce start to shrink underneath you. You waited until the green had completely faded from his skin before you reached for him with shaking hands. “Bruce?” You asked softly. “You with me?” 

Bruce nodded and ran a shaking hand through his hair. “Yeah. Yeah. Uh, Hulk . . . Hulk wanted me to talk to you, I think.” He said. 

He opened his eyes to look at you and you smiled down at him. “He’s worried about you.” You surmised with a soft smile. You always knew there was more to ‘The Beast’ than Bruce let on. 

Bruce laughed quietly. “You always thought he was.” He acknowledged. 

You smiled and climbed off Bruce as he sat up. “The baby is going to be okay, Bruce.” You said, taking his hand and holding it against your stomach. “Whatever happens. And we have Tony and Helen to help us.” 

Bruce let himself relax as he felt your stomach where his baby was growing. A voice in the back of his mind told him it was a mistake. That he was cursing the child in there to live the same kind of hell he was trapped in. But a louder, angrier voice demanded that ‘Puny Banner’ protect the baby and you. Bruce looked up into your hopeful eyes and he let himself listen to his other side. “We’ll figure it out. It will all work out eventually.” He promised. 

Eight months later, the wailing of a tiny voice echoed through the halls of the tower. You slumped against the bed, exhausted as Dr. Cho took your baby to the medical equipment. Eight months, thousands of tests and nobody had been able to pinpoint anything wrong with your baby. Bruce remained unconvinced that everything was fine. You were cautiously hopeful. Still, you and Bruce had made it very clear that the second the baby had been born; Helen needed to run the few tests they couldn’t perform while your baby was still in the womb. 

Bruce held your hand anxiously as the two of you watched Helen’s team bustle around your new baby boy. For three agonizingly long minutes, you’d waited with bated breath; Bruce doing everything he could to keep Hulk at bay. 

Then Helen turned around and brought your infant son to you. She handed him to you quietly and you let out a startled laugh. You glanced at Bruce who was staring at your baby with wide eyes. 

Helen chuckled. “I think we know what that gene sequence none of us could map did.” She chuckled. 

You turned to your baby again and ran a single finger through his hair. It was thicker than any other baby you’d ever seen and snow white. 

Your baby opened his tiny eyes and you smiled at the familiar green color that stared back at you. “Happy Birthday, Stanley.” You murmured, pressing a kiss to his forehead. “We’ve been waiting for you.” 

You glanced at Bruce and held his son out to him. He took the baby with tears in his eyes and pressed a heated kiss to your lips. “Thank you.” He murmured softly. 

You chuckled tiredly. “Don’t thank me just yet, mister. You’re on diaper duty for the next few hours.” You slipped asleep as the doctors fussed around you, too tired to care. 

Bruce chuckled as he held his son in his arms. In the back of his mind a booming voice made a promise that Bruce couldn’t help but agree with. “Protect.” 

Bruce squeezed your hand as he held his baby and knew he’d do whatever it took to keep his family safe. Heaven help whoever tried to take it away from him. Hulk wouldn’t let them survive.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes that was a Stan Lee reference. Yes Stanley is going to have some more interesting things moving forward.
> 
> YES I can't wait to show them with you!!!


End file.
